I don't have a Cabela's anywhere near me so while on a road trip this weekend decided to stop in and check it out.

My first observation is the 'recovery' in terms of consumer spending seems well underway, at least at Cabela's. The store was jammed, every checkout stand open and a long line at each.

I went upstairs to the gun area but could not get within a foot or two of the pistol case given the crowds. FFL paperwork spread out across the counters, and a line up of people with their 'take-a-number' tags waiting to be serviced etc.

Browsing the used long-guns was a little more doable as the racks are out on the floor. I'm wondering if there is any dickering on used guns at Cablea's or if the tagged price is what you pay? $299 run of the mill blued 10/22 carbine with wood stock (not laminate) seems a little high.

giz has bought a few Winnies at Cabela's, perhaps he'll chime in regarding dealing. I would think you could make an offer and see where it goes.

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Sure you did

If it's a cheap gun, priced right they usually don't. Otherwise they usually will. Sometimes a lot, sometimes not much. You just never know. I've gotten somes steals, and some times not.

Yep, Cabela's deals....price is definitely negotiable in the Gun Library.

giz

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Non gratum anus rodentum

+1

I have several guns that came to me via Cabela's, and they rarely say they won't deal. I have only had that happen once, and I don't think the guy was a regular in the gun library. He acted like he didn't know what he was doing.

The only problem with Cabelas used guns is, the employees cherry pick. I would too.

My only problem is that sometimes the tagging is wrong, so you have to be careful. I saw two German Mausers there last time I was in, side by side. One was tagged M48, the other K98. Well, that was fine, except both receivers were stamped plainly with M48 on top. And that magically made one gun $200 more expensive than the other. So, just pay attention and know what you're buying - don't always trust the tag.

I'd add that if your a collector and savvy enough to know a great deal on a odd gun ~ you'll find some exceptional buys at the gun library. They rely to much on the Blue Book and a few other reference books. I've bought a few fairly nice Winchesters and one Rolling Block Remington that I consider absolute bargains.

Don't be afraid of the Gun Library, some of the best deals at Cabela's are inside...

giz

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Non gratum anus rodentum

I've bought a couple of guns from them. On the surface their prices do appear very high. Occasionally you will find a bargain and at times they will come down on price. One bargain was my Ruger 77/22. It's blued, walnut stock with sights, appeared very clean and was priced at $189, I didn't even try and bargain it came home. Another was a minty used Ruger 10/22 Deluxe. It was priced at $299 and they came down to $250, I offered $225 and they accepted. Not bad considering the new ones are using plastic parts.

They will bargain. I bought a like new Model 25 dash nothing .45ACP Target Model of 1955 from them in the Mitchell SD store. They had what I thought was a reasonable price on it but asked anyway if they could come down on price.

I wasn't from SD so they had to ship the gun back to Montana. They shipped the gun for free and knocked $25 off for the FFL transfer fee plus no tax since they shipped out of state.

The revolver came with the box and was shipped 26 Sept 1960 to H. H. Harris Co. Chicago Ill.

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Mike
USMCR 84-87, USAF 87-07

The employees everywhere cherry pick.

My favorite Cabelas story: a screwed up 1917, chopped barrel, sight attached with chewing gun, bad refinish with goodyear grips. They wanted $1600, but it "came in the original box".

1917 in a box? I asked if they had the crate used to send it to the Springfield Armory. They didn't understand. The "original" box was a blue two piece box with no end label.

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Dave

I do not think the "recovery" has anything to do with big box stores having a lot of customers. The issue is that many local gun stores have shut down. Here in central Illinois we have seen more than 50 gun stores shut down in the past 10 years. Owners are retiring or dying of old age and family members do not want to continue the business. Last year the last gun store in Decatur closed. They had been in business for over 40 years. The grandfather retired neither the son nor grandson wanted to continue a successful business. Now you see a flood of people from Decatur at Gander Mountain on the weekend.

I've bought some and sold some , you can dicker . ALso suprisingly they pay better than most shops for used guns too , at least here in Olympia . (Maybe thats whythe one had a $1600 tag on it )

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39-2,59,3913,M&P40
1006,1066

I didn't know they would deal. I've visited many times but never purchased anything because they were too high. Will they deal on any of the guns or just used ones?

Will they deal on any of the guns or just used ones?[/QUOTE]

My experience has been that they will deal on the used ones without any problems. On the new ones, they generally won't budge on the price unless you can show where a local competitor has the same gun at a better price. Then they will match the competitor's sale price, and that is when you ask: "what else can Cabela's do to keep my business?" I've received a 10% off on my next visit's purchase from the manager in those situations.

Best of luck,

Dave

There's a Cabela's in our state that I sometimes check out when in the area. But not during hunting season, like deer season now. They're packed then. I enjoy looking at the used guns but most seem to be priced at, or a little above, market value. Some months ago I did notice an FN High Power that was in the case with a $499 tag on it. I inspected it and found it a little dirty, with plastic grips, but no wear (as if it had just a few magazines through it). When I asked the salesman if the original box was included he went in the back to check and came back with everything; the factory box, 2 extra mags, cleaning kit, manual, and factory wood grips. I felt this was a pretty good deal on this pistol and didn't even dicker. I've not had much luck looking for a nice, older .22 rifle yet.

Cabelas also has an online gun library, and if you see something in another store in another state they will ship it in quite reasonably. I get discounts all the time because I have a Cabelas Visa card I purchase gas and stuff with. I just received a $100 off a $500 purchase card in the mail, and I have another $100 roughly in Cabela's Points. That make a gun just about a bargain. This is on top on any amount you can deal them down.